Dietary needs

OVERVIEW

What is this field?

The Dietary Needs field captures specific nutritional requirements, dietary restrictions, or formulation characteristics of a pet food or treat product. It answers the question pet owners are actually asking when they filter food: “Is this grain-free? Is it high-protein? Does it contain fish?”

Pet food customers are among the most ingredient-aware shoppers in e-commerce. They have dogs with allergies, cats on prescription diets, and rabbits with sensitive digestive systems. Dietary needs data turns your food catalog from a grid of bags into a personalized recommendation engine.

BUSINESS VALUE

Why this field matters

• Food allergies in pets are common — grain, chicken, and beef allergies drive specific filter behavior
• Vet-recommended diets (renal, hepatic, hypoallergenic) are high-intent, high-margin searches
• Raw and freeze-dried food segments are growing rapidly and need explicit dietary classification
• Protein source (“salmon-based”, “duck-based”) are real search queries that need structured data to match
• Subscription customers need dietary consistency — this field enables intelligent subscription logic

ACF SETUP

How to configure this field in Accentuate Custom Fields

Where	ACF dashboard → Templates tab → Product scope → Add new field
Label	Dietary Needs
Name / Key	dietary_needs
Namespace	accentuate (default)
Field type	Shopify >> Single-line text (List)
Multi-value	Yes — a product can be grain-free AND high-protein AND limited ingredient simultaneously

Dietary attributes stack, so multi-value is essential. Shopify >> List type gives you built-in multi-select and storefront API compatibility.

STEP-BY-STEP IN ACF

1. In ACF, open Templates tab and select the Product scope
2. Click “Add new field”
3. Label: “Dietary Needs” — Key auto-fills as “dietary_needs”
4. Namespace: leave as “accentuate”
5. Field type: Shopify >> Single-line text (List)
6. Enable “Allow multiple selections” — dietary attributes stack
7. Click Done, then Save
8. Open a food product and test filtering by multiple dietary values simultaneously

Shopify admin (optional pinning): Pin in Shopify admin: Settings → Custom data → Products. Namespace: “accentuate”, Key: “dietary_needs”, Type: Single-line text (List). ACF confirms the match with a green checkmark on the field definition.

Repeatability: Shopify >> List handles multi-value natively. Do not also enable “Repeatable section” — that is for groups of fields, not multiple values of a single field.

REFERENCE VALUES

Example values — adapt to your catalog

Value	When to use
Grain-free	No wheat, corn, rice, or other grains; for allergy-prone pets
Gluten-free	No gluten-containing ingredients; different from grain-free
High protein	Protein above 30% dry matter; active dogs and muscle support
Limited ingredient	Single protein source, minimal ingredients; elimination diets
Raw / Freeze-dried	Minimally processed; biologically appropriate raw food diets
Hypoallergenic	Novel protein sources to minimize allergic response
Omega-3 enriched	Added EPA/DHA; coat, joint, and cognitive benefits
No artificial preservatives	Free from BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin; clean label products
Probiotic / Prebiotic	Added gut health support; digestive microbiome
Vet-recommended formula	Formulated to meet veterinary nutritional guidelines

BEST PRACTICES

• Always cross-reference dietary claims against the actual ingredient list — accuracy is a legal matter
• Use “Grain-free” and “Gluten-free” as separate values — they are not synonyms
• Keep dietary values consistent with how customers search, not how manufacturers market
• Add a note in product description for vet diets requiring professional recommendation
• Update dietary values whenever a supplier changes the formulation

COMMON MISTAKES — AVOID THESE

• Using marketing phrases as dietary values: “Premium quality” is not a dietary attribute
• Claiming hypoallergenic without specifying which allergen is avoided
• Omitting this field for treats — a dog with a chicken allergy cannot eat a chicken dental chew
• Not updating dietary values after a formula change — this is a safety and legal issue
• Confusing this field with Ingredients — dietary_needs is the classification, not the raw list

IN CONTEXT — EXAMPLE PRODUCT

Wild Salmon & Sweet Potato — Grain-Free Adult Dog Food
Pet type: Dog
Age group: Adult
Dietary needs: Grain-free, High protein, Omega-3 enriched, No artificial preservatives
Breed size: S / Small, M / Medium, L / Large
Health support: Skin & coat, Joint support

Developer Implementation

Liquid note: Use .value to unwrap the Shopify >> List type. Render as pills — each dietary attribute is a separate array element.

{% comment %}
  Dietary Needs — Shopify >> List type
  Renders each attribute as a clickable badge/pill
{% endcomment %}

{% assign dietary = product.metafields.accentuate.dietary_needs.value %}

{% if dietary %}
  <div class="dietary-badges">
    {% for item in dietary %}
      <span class="badge badge--dietary">{{ item }}</span>
    {% endfor %}
  </div>
{% endif %}